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By Shawna, on April 23rd, 2013 
Cheyenne has been playing Math Rider, a math drill game, this last few weeks to brush up on her mental math skills. We’ve reviewed Math Rider in the past – during our review of Math Rider from two years ago, all four of my kids were using the software – but with a limited number of computers, Cheyenne didn’t have the amount of free time then to use it as often as she does now.
Math Rider is easy to use, but with tons of complicated things going on in the background . . . → Read More: Review – Math Rider
By Shawna, on March 26th, 2013 
Think there’s no way you can afford piano lessons for the kids? Think again! MusIQ Homeschool from Adventus is piano lesson software that your students can use in the comfort of your home, on your schedule, at a price far lower than the cost of traditional instruction. (Compared to $15+ per lesson for an instructor, plus transportation and time… that adds up fast.)
There are two broad levels to MusIQ Homeschool:
The Early Curriculum, comprised of Children’s Musical Journey Software, levels 1-3, and the corresponding lesson plans, created for ages 4-10, and The Multi-Level Curriculum software . . . → Read More: Review: Adventus MusIQ Homeschool Piano Lessons
By Shawna, on March 26th, 2012 
We all know it’s important to be ever-vigilant about what our kids are doing on the internet. And while we KNOW that, and KNOW that the best way to do that is to supervise every moment, in reality, that’s easier said than done.
As eclectic homeschoolers, we use the internet – a LOT. We’re busy, active people; we’re not always home at the same time. It just isn’t practical or realistic to think that every moment a kid needs to use the computer, an adult is going to be in . . . → Read More: Action Alert
By Shawna, on February 10th, 2012 
Math Rider has a new version out, and our family recently got to take it for a test run!
As a family, we had some mixed feelings going into this review – we’d tried (and loved) the Math Rider math facts game last year (that review is here) – and a couple kids were afraid they might have messed it up. (The kids’ words, not mine.)
I’m happy to report that we have come to the consensus that Math Rider, already a educational, yet attention-keeping game, has been made just a little bit better. I’m not . . . → Read More: Great math game redux
By Shawna, on November 13th, 2011 
With our computer-driven society, we all know that it’s essential for today’s children to learn to type – and the younger they learn, the easier so many other tasks become.
My daughter, Cheyenne (9), has been using computer since she was 2 or 3, but only in the last year or so has her typing moved from a slow hunt and peck to something a bit more efficient.
Cheyenne recently had the opportunity to try out Keyboard Town Pals, software with a straightforward, yet far-reaching concept: teach kids to type, make . . . → Read More: Keyboard Town Pals
By Shawna, on September 29th, 2011 
Literature and Latte has released the latest beta of Scrivener for Windows today. (Yay!) They’re not quite ready for a full 1.0 release, but in the meantime, the beta versions are free – and stable and reliable enough for daily use.
I’ve been using Scrivener for Windows on a daily basis since late last year, and it’s made a huge improvement in my productivity. Don’t know if the thrill of good software, the ease of use, or how simple it makes it to organized, yet flexible.
If you haven’t checked out Scrivener for Windows yet, . . . → Read More: Scrivener – A writer’s toolbox
By Shawna, on September 14th, 2011 
I’m starting online college classes (again) in a couple of weeks.
I’m excited.
I’m scared.
I’m determined to be organized and stay ahead of schedule.
So of course, I went looking for online planners. And downloadable planners. And printable planners. (And this was interesting, but not the type of college planner I was looking for.)
And I ended up over on Donna Young’s site printing calendars and a few other things.
Red Notebook is interesting, but not quite what I’m looking for. If I could add a couple of these features into . . . → Read More: Online / software student planners
By Shawna, on May 20th, 2011 
The princess, as my only student in the 7-9 year old range, has recently been trying out the online version of Wordy Qwerty, from Talking Words. Wordy Qwerty is a product designed to increase reading and spelling fluency. Once students are reading, they may recognize and be able to read many words, but not always spell them correctly, and this is a gap that Wordy Qwerty is designed to correct.
Wordy Qwerty covers 20 different spelling rules, as follows:
Silent E Sounds of C Sounds of G J or DGE W or . . . → Read More: Learn spelling rules with Wordy Qwerty
By Shawna, on May 18th, 2011 
We’re winding down to the end of the school year, and with it, finishing up this year’s TOS Homeschool Crew journey.
We’ve had the joy of reviewing quite a few math products this year – I’ve got just one more to share with you. Sometime in the near future, I’ll put together a comparison post, to let you know how they compare.
Formerly a paper-and-pencil daily drill program, Mad Dog Math is drill software. Mad Dog Math may be used to supplement to any math curriculum; spend just ten minutes . . . → Read More: Get those doggone math facts down!
By Shawna, on May 16th, 2011 
I hate map-hunting.
No, I’m not talking about treasure maps, where you use the map to look for treasure – I’m talking about looking for the map itself! (And not the secret “X marks the spot” kind… just maps. Organized, printer-friendly, relatively comprehensive, MAPS.
I’m sure you’ve done it. You get to talking with the kids about something – a plant, an animal, an event… and all of the sudden one of them asks, “Where IS that, anyways?”
I pretty much make the habit these days of resorting to Google Maps. At least the . . . → Read More: Bright Ideas and Wonder(ful) Maps!
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